Trust Me, You Can't Trust Me
by Beautifully Corrupted
Summary: Ember Falls, a con-artist with a temper. Mai Lee an undercover specialist on the run. Ivory Blake a science prodigy with a secret. Natasha Singe, a vigilante with a past. Brought together by a mysterious man to accomplish one goal: Bring down the Hamoto brothers. How? By gaining their trust of course, how else? Human AU
1. Chapter 1

A/N: This is my first TMNT fanfiction. It's going to be a little hard for me to pull off, and I doubt that it will live up to all of the expectations that I have for it. Though hopefully you, the readers, will find it good enough to review. This is a real change for me, I don't typically write in third person, but it's without a doubt the best way to write for this story. I can only hope that with eight different main characters the story doesn't become to crowded. I know that it being a human AU is weird. I don't particularly like it, if I'm honest, it doesn't seem like the Teenage MUTANT Ninja TURTLES, clearly. But I honestly don't think I can do the whole turtle thing justice. It's better not to do it, then to screw it up completely and annoy everyone reading the story. But on the bright side they're teenage Ninja's!

Also, Raphael does indeed have a Brooklyn accent, I'm not going to write that accent because I suck deeply at writing accents. So...yeah.

Disclaimer: I only own Ember, Mai, Natasha, Ivory and my plot. If I owned anything else...well let's just say I doubt they'd be as popular as they are now. And Raphael would be in almost every scene.

Prologue: Introduction

_Raphael Hamoto is a dark-haired temperamental fighter. Ember Falls is a spunky red-headed con-artist. Raphael has his family. Ember is all alone in the world. Raphael has a cause. Ember will work for the highest bidder. Raphael is the bad-boy. Ember is just a suave trickster. Raphael is lost. Ember has never been found. When these two meet, how high will the sparks fly?_

Ember smiled wildly, running her fingers through the cash she just earned. New York was a little bit more of a challenge, people were less trusting here than they were back in France, but honestly, whatever it was that she said, people believed her.

Fools, she thought, she could tell them she had a way to enact world piece and they'd believe her. She looked around, making sure no one saw her, and sild under the boards nailed to the door frame.

Her smile never faded, despite the musty appearance of the building. It was an old, gross building that looked like it'd fall over with a breath.

If you walked into the building, pushed aside one of the many boards lying around, and lifted up a brick, you'd find a very sophisticated looking keypad. If you pressed in the numbers, 75-84-9965 then you'd see a handle pop up. If you pulled that handle up, you'd see a chrome chamber, that didn't look like much. But, if you positioned your body the way that Ember was, as if you were about to slide down a slide at a playground, and did exactly that, you'd find that the seemingly stable bottom to to the cube, was actually more of a door than a bottom.

Sliding down the entrance, the fiery teen landed directly on her extravagant couch. She heaved herself up, and opened her vault inside the couch, she stuffed the money inside, and closed it again. With that taken care of, Ember all but ran to her bathroom mirror. Happily taking out to brown contacts and revealing her natural green eyes. Running her fingers through her very realistic looking brown wig, she ripped it off. Waves of velvet red hair came tumbling down her back and shoulders.

Ember loved her hair, maybe a little bit more than a girl should. With a bright, vibrant, velvet red color and black streaks running through beautifully, her hair was something to remember. Digging her fingers under the constricting mask, she peeled it off.

Now, looking in the mirror, instead of the brown haired, brown eyed, round faced girl, who looked innocent and helpless, stood a fierce looking girl, with memorable wavy hair, pouty light pink lips that were almost like a sideways bow, and stunning green eyes. The 5'1 teenage girl might have been small, but she looked like a force to be reckoned with.

Her lips curled upwards in an arrogant smirk as she studied herself in the mirror. Quickly and effectively stripping off her pink and purple shirt she replaced it with a comfortable T-shirt and shorts. Pushing the door open with a dramatic sigh, Ember walked through the threshold of the her feet to lead her out of the room and into her kitchen.

She loved New York, the people here were far less trusting than they were back in France, it provided more of a challenge. Though, it was easy to get people to trust her. Too easy for her liking. She wanted a challenge, no, she needed a challenge.

An obnoxious ringing bounced off of the modern purple walls, with yet another sigh Ember walked over to where her cell phone was and answered the call.

"How may I help you?" She asked in her sweetest tone.

"Ember Falls, correct?" An unfamiliar and unpleasantly monotone voice asks from the other side of the phone.

Ember stiffened, "How do you know my name?" She demanded angrily, almost growling the words.

"I'll take that as a yes. Do not worry, Ember, I am not the enemy. I have a job for you," The monotone voice said, in a tone that Ember could almost say was amusement.

"Sorry, but I don't typically take jobs from robots," Ember replied dryly, her top lip curling in distaste.

"I can assure you, Ms. Falls, that I am not a robot. I think if you here what I have in mind you would reconsider your hasty decision," The man said, and Ember could hear the underlying meaning of his arrogant words: Here me out or else.

Ember, who had a problem learning from past mistakes, was one to pick a fight. Especially with men who called her late at night, knew her name, and were far too ominous for her liking.

"We went from Ember to Ms. Falls, why do I have the feeling that we're becoming less acquainted as time goes on? Why don't you tell me your name so I can return the favor?"

"Very funny." The man replied in a tone that suggested otherwise.

"I'll take that as a no, so I fear I must call you, Mr. Robot," Ember replied, feigning disappointment. She was attempting to copy his articulate speech patterns, in a form of mockery, hoping if she got him mad enough he'd tell her what she wanted to know.

"Ember, I have a job for you to do, meet me at 516 Ninth Street, at eleven o'clock tonight if you want more details," And with that the voice, whom she could tell was beginning to get annoyed with her unwillingness to corporate, hung up.

Carefully putting the phone back on the counter, Ember sighed, knowing that her curiosity was bound to get the best of her. Despite her common sense saying that it was a bad idea, she checked the time. 10:15.

Now, Ember wasn't a weak girl who gave into every single whim she had, but she did have an unnaturally strong amount of curiosity. Not the kind that made her want to explore life's mysteries, but the kind that once she found out someone was hiding something from her, she had to know the entire story, no matter how stupid it may be.

Her rationality screamed at her not to go, but the evil of her curiosity won her over in the end. But, to put her screaming instincts to ease, she walked into her room.

Pulling out a black leather corset, jacket, pants, and a matching pair of gloves. She stored a dagger in one knee length boot, black boot, and in an easily accessible pocket in her jacket she stored four throwing knives.

Content with her weapons, Ember swiped her keys from the counter beside her phone. With a devious glint passing through her bright green eyes, she hoped that she would finally be presented with a challenge.

Carefully walking to the keypad behind her refrigerator, she quickly pressed in four numbers. Creeping into her garage, she locked her eyes on the beautiful motorcycle before her she found herself smiling at the sight of her beloved bike.

Made from spare parts, as to give her something to do, and spray-painted black with subtle but effective accents of red, it was the love of her short life.

She traced her favorite source of transportation with her gloved fingertips lightly, the tender look that crossed her features vanished just as quickly as it came.

Swinging a leg over the seat, she started the engine. Enjoying the powerful rumbling beneath her, she hesitated before putting on her helmet. Reaching upwards to press the timed door opener, she drove out of the garage.

As she drove, she had a strange feeling. She didn't know it at the time, but it was the feeling that something was about to happen to her, something big, something life changing.

_When asked the question, fight or flight, Mai will always choose flight. After finding herself in a whisked into a world of undercover spy missions, she is given a seemingly standard mission, but when she meets Leonardo, the calm and focused leader of the team, she has to question if this is one mission she may not be able to complete. Can Leo finally save her from her past, or will she be forced to run for the rest of her life?_

Mai looked over her shoulder as she ran, finding that the men chasing after her were not only getting closer, but they also looked mad. Really mad.

Picking up her speed, the Japanese beauty rounded a corner.

"Come back here!" One of the men screamed at her.

She scoffed, why would he think she would simply stop just because he told her to? Clearly, he needed to be brought back to the twenty first century.

Feeling a hand brush her shoulder, she jerked away, and pushed herself even farther. Just one more -there's the van, she thought excitedly, as she saw the black van waiting with doors wide open.

Looking back again at the angry men chasing her, Mai took a deep breath and ran faster than she thought possible. When she was a three feet away from the van, she launched herself into the van. Bracing herself for when the van took off down the road.

"Do you have the chip?" A harsh voice asked.

The girl glared at him, slipping her hand up to where the hair tie constricted her long two-toned hair into a bun, she ripped it out of her hair. Causing her straight hair to come toppling down her back, running a hand through her black and blue hair, she reached in her pocket and threw the computer chip at him.

"There's your chip," She spat at the man before her.

His brown eyes studied the chip greedily, before he motioned towards his henchmen to give her the money.

She didn't want to know what the chip contained, but she had a feeling that it had to do with a map of the sewer system of a small town in Kansas. What she really didn't want to know was why the Irish Mafia needed that, and why the Mafia she just stole it from wanted it so bad.

She snatched the cash from the bulky stupid looking man, and counted it quickly.

"Hey! We agreed on a two thousand, you're five hundred dollars short!" She snapped, glaring at him.

The men looked at her, as if they were surprised that she was demanding the money she deserved.

In a flurry of events, the young seventeen-year-old found herself thrown out of the van, and a laughing voice calling, "Welcome to New York, sweetheart,"

Fuming, Mai got up, brushing of her jeans and grumbling a few Japanese curse words under her breath. Two weeks undercover to steal a chip and she gets ripped off! Just her luck! Not knowing what to do next, she flicked her brown eyes back and forth on the empty road. You would think New York would be a little more crowded.

Honestly, if she hadn't received the phone call at that precise moment, she had no idea what she would have done.

But it did.

"Hello?" She asked.

"Good evening, Mai Lee," A monotone voice greeted, clearly relieved for an unknown reason. Unknown to Mai at least.

Mai froze, "How...How do you know who I am?" She whispered, suddenly terrified that Shang had found her at last. It was only a matter of time, she thought, I can't hide from him forever.

"Relax, Ms. Lee, I am not with Shang. I am merely offering you a job," The man said.

At the mention of a job, Mai's eyes darted down to the cash in her hand. She needed more money...and it wasn't like she could just apply for any random job that suited her fancy. Not only did she refuse to give them her real name, as Shang would find her, but she was not legal in the U.S either.

"What kind of job?" She asked skeptically.

"One where your particular...skills, will be put to great use,"

"How much are you paying?" She asked finally.

"If you're interested, meet me at 516 Ninth Street, at eleven o'clock tonight for more details," Then he hung up.

Looking at the phone for a moment, Mai looked up at her current address. Then, pulling a map out of her jacket pocket, she searched for Ninth Street.

Too far away to make by eleven if she were to walk.

"How else am I supposed to get anywhere?" She asked aloud.

As if to answer her question, a yellow taxi drove by.

Mai smiled, stuffing the cash and the map back into her pocket. She began running after the taxi.

"Where to?" The gruff driver asked as she slid into the front seat. Stifling a shudder as the scent of cigars and alcohol hit her, Mai said the address the man gave her confidently. The man eyed her skeptically for a moment, and then entered the coordinates into the GPS on his dash bored.

"What could you possibly have to do on Ninth Street?" The driver asked.

Mai turned towards him, "I don't know," She answered honestly.

The man snorted, a rather unpleasant sound coming from him, "What do you mean you don't know?"

"I mean," Mai said getting slightly annoyed, "I don't know why I'm being summoned to Ninth Street."

"You have an accent," The man observed, changing the subject smartly, "Where are you from?"

"Japan." She answered, sighing as she thought about home. What she wouldn't give to be back home, no more running from angry people, no more getting shoved out of a van. Sitting under the cherry blossom tree in her backyard reading the newest book her father brought home.

Her father. An all too familiar pang plagued the girls being, as she thought about her late father. And then a brief image of her mother passed through her mind. Her tear streaked face as she begged her only daughter to run, to have the freedom that she never had. If only my mother knew what I was doing now, Mai thought, she'd be so disappointed.

But one thing kept the runaway going, and that was the thought of true love. Corny, yes, but it was also true. Mai longed for true love, someone that would see past her pretty face, and see the real her. Someone who would know all of her little quarks, but would love each and every single one of them. She wanted a love that would stand up to Shang and give her true freedom. She wanted the love that she read about as a young girl.

As she watched the buildings blur past, she had a feeling deep down, a feeling that something big was going to happen, something was going to change. What it was, she didn't know, but Mai was sure that after tonight her life would never be the same.

_Ivory Blake, a science prodigy is a mind for hire. If you need someone with a vast understanding of the scientific world, for whatever you may need, for the right price she's all yours. Donatello, whereas he may be a fighter, his true talent lies within the scientific world. When these two are brought together by the most unusual of circumstances, what kind of reaction will these two have? _

Ivory smiled softly as she watched her plan fold into action. It was what she did best, formulating a plan, and then watching it fall into place.

It was all an easy task, if you really thought about it, all you had to do is think about it. Although, she had to admit, this particular plan was by far the easiest she had come across in a very long time.

A high-school science fair.

Her job had been simple, create a first place winning science project, and attend the actual event itself to feed the girl paying for it information about the project.

It was very good pay for the job at hand, two thousand dollars for an award winning experiment. While attending the fair, the girl hadn't expected to feel such a strong sense of longing. She wanted to be normal more than she could say.

Now, she was attending the after party. Apparently, that was the reason that her employer wanted to win the fair, so she could have an excuse to throw a party. A party which Ivory was being forced to attend.

Pushing a strand of purple dipped blond hair out of her round face, she looked around.

"Hello," A masculine voice whispered behind her.

Letting out a small squeak of surprise, she flipped around quickly. Seeing a boy, blond hair, brown eyes standing behind her, Ivory sighed inwardly.

"Didn't mean to scare you, want to dance?" The boy asked. The answer might have been yes, if his breath hadn't stunk of beer.

The genius shook her head, "No thank you,"

"Your loss," The boy shrugged and walked off to ask some other girl.

Feeling a sudden vibration in her pocket, Ivory sprung to answer the phone. Hoping for an excuse out of this party.

"Hello?" She asked loudly. Weaving her way through the crowd, she existed the house.

"...if you're interested," A dry voice finished on the other side of the phone.

"Sorry, I didn't catch that,"

"Ms. Blake, I am growing tired of these phone calls. If you are interested in a very well paying job then please come to 516 Ninth Street, at eleven o'clock tonight for more details," The man finished.

"Um..." Ivory paused, looking back at the house, "I'll be there," She decided. Anything was better than being stuck with a bunch of high-schoolers she envied. Besides, well paying, she needed the money.

"I look forward to seeing you, Ms. Blake" And then the phone call ended.

Happy for an excuse to leave, the blue eyed girl marched back into the party. As she searched for her employer, she was slightly angered by how many of the teens were drinking. Not only were they dulling their senses, but they were making themselves vulnerable. Ivory's thoughts flickered towards her step-father, the image of his beady brown eyes and greasy face was enough to make the genius shudder.

Slowly, the image in her head faded towards her mother. Lively and happy, encouraging Ivory to follow her dreams, but even at a young age the girl knew that her mother was in a deep state of depression ever since her father left them for his secretary. Then, when Anthony entered their lives, her mother was so happy. Young and naive, the brown haired girl didn't see a problem in the world. Until Anthony and her mother got married, suddenly the man was no longer caring and considerate, his true identity of an abusive drunk came to light. When her mother tried to divorce him...Ivory's thoughts trailed off. Not being able to continue the rest of those dark thoughts.

"Ms. Kenton! I'm leaving!" Ivory shouted to her drunk employer.

"Okay, bye Ivory...thanks for helping," The blond slurred.

And with that, Ivory began making her way to her meeting. A feeling of giddiness rising through-out her. This is my chance, she thought happily, I don't know how I know it, but I do. Nothing's going to be the same after this.

_After experiencing a quite traumatic event, Natasha Singe has become a bounty hunter... of sorts. Capturing criminals that the police won't go after, beating them up, and then handing them over to the police. Though she can be ruthless and unpredictable, she can also be the playful, lovably random gamer that she was before the incident, can Michelangelo show her how to let go, or will she forever be stuck clinging onto the past?_

Natasha threw herself into her car, slamming down on the gas. Hopefully she'd be able to get at least a four or five mile head start before the police realized what was waiting on their doorstep.

Happy for the lack of traffic on the unpopular road, the strange haired girl sped past a blur of buildings.

Peering at her rear-view mirror she realized that no one was following her. Ripping the ski-mask off her face, she laughed. Seeing her current place of residence, she circled around the building a few times just to be careful before pulling into the hotel lot.

Slamming the stolen car door shut, Natasha walked into the hotel.

Once inside her room, she made extra sure that the door was locked. Once absolutely certain of her safety, she squealed in excitement.

Another criminal, captured and brought to justice by The Tiger. Happily running over to the television, she flicked on the news channel.

"This just in, The Tiger, strikes again!" An urgent sounding voice said through the television.

Natasha laughed as the image of four confused and angry police officers came into view.

"We have no idea how she keeps doing it!" One of them all but screamed.

While the police officers were explaining what happened to the reporter, April something...April O'Feil or something like that, Natasha walked to the mini-fridge and pulled out a box of left over pizza.

Taking a bite of the cold cheese pizza, she grinned.

"...The Tiger's most recent victim is John Greene, a suspect if several rape and murder cases. Due to his power in the cooperate industry, he has never been convicted. Now, he is confessing to everything and then some. It turns out Mr. Greene has been assisting the Irish Mafia. Citizens are starting to wonder if The Tiger is really a criminal. With minor assault crimes, she hasn't done any real damage to anyone but the felons. The Tiger is one vigilante that may not need to be stopped," Natasha smiled wildly, running a hand through her orange striped black hair.

Yes, she was very much aware of the fact that tigers have orange fur with black stripes, but she still felt like the name suited her.

Her ring-tone began playing, and Natasha answered the phone. Figuring it was Daniel, her source on where all the criminals were and such, calling to congratulate her.

"Hello, Ms. Singe." A very tired voice greeted her.

"Hello, tired old guy," Natasha greeted, taking another bite of her pizza.

The man on the other side of the phone chuckled without humor, "I knew I should have called you first. But it seems as if you were preoccupied,"

"What do you mean?" Natasha asked, suddenly alert.

"Don't fret, dear. I'm not going to cause you any harm. I have a job for you,"

"A job?" The girl asked curiously.

"Yes, a job,"

"What kind of job?"

"A well paying one,"

"What do I have to do?" Natasha prodded.

"Come to 516 Ninth Street, at eleven o'clock tonight for more specific instructions," He ordered.

Thinking it over briefly, she decided it was an okay idea. She needed money, even if she didn't want to admit it, and she really had nothing planned.

"I'll be there." She informed him.

And then the line went dead.

Natasha did not understand it then, she did not even really notice it, but she had a feeling. An all too familiar feeling in her heart. Nothing would ever be the same after that night. Although, she passed it off as the pizza digesting.

_Ember Falls, a con-artist with a temper. Mai Lee an undercover specialist on the run. Ivory Blake a science prodigy with a secret. Natasha Flare, a vigilante with a past. All of them need something, for most it's the money, but Ember just wants a challenge. Brought together by a mysterious man to accomplish one goal: Bring down the Hamoto brothers. How? By gaining their trust of course._

Ember checked the address one more time, and then with a sigh she walked into the fancy building. Her heart race quickened at the sight before her. Dozens of people, all of them wearing expensive suits, and designer watches. The red-head revealed in the thought of tricking each and every person scuttling past.

Later, she told herself firmly. She was on a mission to satisfy her curiosity. She curled her lip as passing people looked at her oddly, then with a dreaded feeling she removed her helmet from her head. Shaking her hair loose in a fluid, seducing motion. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw a few of the younger business men watching her, with a phone in one hand. The trickster had no doubt that each and every one of them had beautiful complying gold digging wives.

That was what made the men look at her, it wasn't Ember's features, it was her wild and untamed presence. She didn't even bother adjusting it, the girl wanted them to think about her when they kissed their wives, she wanted them to long for someone who truly loved them, not their money.

Maybe that would save them, if not it would at least condemn them. Either way Ember was happy.

"Ember!" A female voice called. She would have described it as screaming, but the woman was far too elegant to be paired with such a harsh description.

Jerking around, a motion that caused her long hair to spiral, she found herself with several strands of her hair in her face. Blowing them out of the way, she saw a woman in a white dress. The dress was professional enough, as to ward off any suspicion of it being a clubbing dress, but it was revealing enough that one could easily see that the dark-haired woman was not a respected member of this cooperation.

With a once over, Ember knew exactly why she was hired. A simple distraction. She'd be gone by the end of the month.

"Yes?" The red-headed spitfire asked, her tone suggested it would be best to get to the point. Quickly.

"Um...Mr. Mickle would like me to escort you to his office," The woman said, attempting a small smile. She was met with a vicious glare.

Mr. Mickle? Could that be the man she spoke with on the phone?

"Well, then you should probably hurry," Ember encouraged, her voice dripping recklessly with irritation.

"Okay!" The assistant squeaked, as she began walking away.

Following the meek woman, the red-head became lost in a deep thought. Why couldn't that be me? Sure, the liar could give thousands of reasons, but she couldn't truly believe any of them. She knew that she would have never conformed to showing people around and giving office tours, she'd be a well respected member of society. The independent business woman. No, Ember told herself, I'd rather die than become one of them. Even though at times she longed to use her skills for good, maybe become a foreign ambassador or something, she meant what she said.

Sure, she could have done drastically different things with her life, but that didn't mean she had to. Or that she wanted to. She wasn't exactly thrilled to be a con-artist, whose life was built around the lies she constructed with her imagination, but she was in good condition. She had thousands of homes all over the world, she had pulled off some of the best lies in history, and she was only seventeen.

Her skills made her desirable, everyone wanted to hire her, everyone wanted her to help them take down their rival. She could convince even the toughest cooperate C.E.O to sell his life's work. Hell, once she managed to convince a queen, given it was in a small country, to hand over her prized crown. Ember Falls could have anything she wanted.

"Right in here," The dark-haired woman said, before running away as fast as her too high high-heels would allow her to.

She checked her cell phone, seeing that it was 10: 57, she decided to wait three minutes. Taking a breath, the black clothed teen fingered the throwing knife in her pocket. Prepared for the worst, she swung the door open.

It would be an understatement to say that Ember was surprised with the sight that greeted her. She was prepared for flying oranges to rush out of the door and attempt to murder her, but this, this was all kinds of surprising.

Three teenage girls, roughly the same age as her, sat at a wooden desk opposite to a grey haired man. Ember couldn't help the excitement that coursed through her, it's not really every day that she met people her own age. She didn't actually go to school.

"Ah, Ms. Falls, pushing the limits as always I see. Sit down, let's talk," The grey-haired man said, his voice confirmed that he was the man she spoke to on the phone.

Re-directing her green eyes towards the girls that sat in expensive chairs, one of them had blond hair dipped with purple at the bottom, the Asian girl had pretty hair, the top being blue, then it fading into her natural dark brown color at the bottom, and the last girl had possibly the strangest hair out of all of them, black hair with orange stripes.

Shrugging, Ember dropped into a seat throwing a purposefully irritating smirk at the older man.

"I have called all of you here for a job, it is a very difficult job that many have tired to pull off, but no one has yet to accomplish this task yet," The man said, his blue eyes hardened.

The green-eyed girl growled in annoyance, causing the blond next to her to jump slightly, "Get to the point, salt shaker," She snapped.

The man, whom she rightfully assumed was Mr. Mickle, sighed. Pinching the bridge of his nose he spoke, "If you weren't the best, Ms. Falls,"

"Ah, but I am, so you have to put up with me," She said, her voice sweet like honey. Poisonous honey.

"I want the four of you to go undercover, gain the trust of four brothers who have been a pain in our side for quite some time, and then, once they trust you and tell you their weakness, report back to us." He told them.

The girls expressions all remained stoney, in a poker face sort of way.

The tiger haired girl broke the silence, "Why us?" She asked the question lingering on each of the girls tongue.

"Well, each brother is drastically different. All four of you girls have personalities that will match each of them. You have been handpicked as the absolute best at what you do. Not only are your personalities perfect for the job, but your skills are useful as well," Mr. Mickle explained.

"What exactly do each of us do?" The blond asked suspiciously.

"That's for the four of you to discuss, do you accept or not?" He asked bluntly.

Ember paused, running the information through her head, she was the first to respond.

"How much do we get paid?"

"Four hundred thousand dollars each." He replied not missing a beat.

"I accept!" The blond girl said eagerly.

Mr. Mickle smiled brightly, "Here's the file that contains all the information about Donatello Hamoto you will need to know," He told her, handing her a tan file.

Next to accept was the tiger haired girl, and then the cautious Asian girl.

Finally, after many thoughts, Ember spoke.

"I'll do it,"

And just like that, she was passed the folder. Of course, she didn't listen to a word Mr. Mickle said, but she opened the file greedily. The print on the first page was simple, an uncomplicated profile.

RAPHAEL HAMOTO

Age: Seventeen

Height: 6'1

Weight: 170 lbs.

Weapon of choice: Twin Sais

He is the most violent, and rage-filled out of the Hamoto brothers.

Ember didn't even notice the faint smile that over came her lips, as she caught sight of his picture.

It looked as if he hadn't known the picture was being taken, his head was tilted to the side so you could only see his elegant features, he was poised to attack the two men in front of him, his three bladed weapons in each hand. The only thing on his face, was a red strip of fabric, tied around his dark-haired head like a blindfold, with eyes cut out. His piercing golden eyes, even in the picture, contained so much emotion. It was no surprise that he was the temperamental of the brothers. He was wearing...Ninja attire?

"The four of them are Ninja's?" Ember asked aloud, puzzled.

"Yes. They are all quadruplets with an admirable amount of skill in the art of Ninjitsu and several other fighting techniques. These four boys have been known to take down armies."

"Well, that's not scary at all," The tiger haired girl drawled.

Well, Ember thought excitedly as she looked at the other girls, this just got interesting.

**Remember! Reviewing is always a good idea. It really is, I mean...it's all awesome and stuff. I know that this isn't the best story out there, but maybe, with you're help and feedback, it can be. PLEASE REVIEW!**


	2. Chapter 2

Ember sighed, boredom clouding over her features. Unlike the other three girls, who were not used to pulling off things like this, she wasn't shaking with anticipation. Although, as much as she would deny it, she had a certain excitement fluttering through her. She would finally get to meet Raphael. As strange, and straight up pathetic as she felt it was, the green-eyed girl was fascinated by him.

For the past three weeks, since she had gotten the folder containing his information, she had spent countless hours re-reading the material, memorizing his picture. A fact that disturbed Ember was that she found herself disappointed that the picture only caught the side of his face.

Without a doubt, the boy was handsome, she could tell that much, but she wanted more. Ember found herself in unfamiliar territory, but passed it off as nothing more than her curiosity getting the best of her...again. For most people, curiosity could be considered a positive trait, but for the red-haired con-artist it was a trait she was slowly coming to despise about herself.

But for now, she had to put everything aside. Tonight was the night, and while she was deeply against the plan that was being carried out, she had no choice. Over the course of the three weeks since the night she accepted the job, the seventeen-year-old had been forced to not only share an apartment with the three other girls, but get to know them as well.

She had never in her life been so thankful for her natural ability to fool people.

Whilst the other girls told one another truthful details about their lives, reluctantly but they still did it, Ember made up details about her past. It's not that she was necessarily keeping secrets, actually that's exactly what it was. The hired girls knew very little truthful facts about the con-artist. All they really knew about her, that was true anyway, was her profession, where she was from and that she had an erratic temper.

They were under the false belief that she had two parents back in France, and that she came from a well off family. Of course, questions arose about as to how exactly she came into her unsavory profession. Ember had merely said she fell in with the wrong crowd and found herself caught up with a powerful man and that she had fled to America in order to hide from him, and that her current profession was all that she could find to keep herself fed and sheltered.

Mai in particular seemed to sympathize with her when she had said this. It almost made the teen feel guilty, when Mai shared a story very similar to the one that Ember had falsified. The only differences being that the japanese beauty hadn't chose her fate, and of course, her story was truthful.

One of the things that Ember prided herself in, not only could she convince the president that he was her long-lost brother, but also that she could tell when people lied to her. None of these girls even considered lying about their pasts. Although, Natasha seemed to be withholding something. Lucky for her, Ember wasn't one to pry into another's personal life.

Her green eyes flickered over to where a certain purple dipped blond sat, nervously fiddling with her hands. Her typically cold gaze softened at the sight of the brainiac. Ember would be lying if she said that she hadn't felt a protective of the genius. Ivory was a sweet girl, all of them were really, but out of all of them, Ivory had it the worst.

At least, that's what Ember believed.

It wasn't so much the events in her life that made hers the worst, but the way she handled them. The poor thing felt as if she deserved everything that came at her. At least none of the others felt that way about themselves.

Ivory re-directed her eyes to meet compassionate green ones. Ember sent her a look of reassurance. Knowing that out of all of them Ivory was the most nervous. Her particular job had nothing to do with anything like this. The worst she'd ever done was design a weapon. Nothing like this.

As all four of the girls walked in silence, they all saw the street name at the same time. Elkwood Drive.

Taking a single deep breath, Ember was the first to fall into character.

"Did you see the way that guy looked at you? I can't believe turned him down like that!" She said rather loudly, slurring her speech as if she were drunk.

If she really was drunk, the cautious girl wouldn't have heard the distant footsteps.

"I don't know," Mai responded, her voice more controlled but still held a bit of a slur, "Something just felt off about him,"

"Well, if it were me I wouldn't have hesitated! He was H.O.T!" Natasha all but screamed. Ember was slightly thrown off by how well the girl acted.

"I agree with Mai, something about him felt off," Ivory said, stumbling over and walking crooked.

"Whatever!" Ember and Natasha screamed at the same time. Before looking at one another and bursting into a loud fit of drunken giggles.

The footsteps were getting closer.

"I love clubbing!" Ember screamed to the world, opening her arms and proceeding to spin around in circles.

"You're going to make yourself sick!" Ivory said, her slurred words sounding amused.

"Better right now than in the morning," Was Ember's uncaring response.

"Well now, what do we have here boys?" A deep masculine voice called.

"Looks like a little bit of fun," Another male said a sinister grin.

Ember had to keep herself from punching him in the face, if she did the entire plan would be useless.

In a flurry of events, all four girls found themselves being pinned against the cold wall. When Ivory let out a terrified scream, everyone knew it was only a matter of times before their targets showed up.

Ember concealed a wicked smile, as she began thrashing about, not as well as she could have mind you, delivering more than one painful blow to the unfortunate soul holding her in place. Wisely, whoever it was that planned this whole thing out chose the strongest guy to keep Ember in check.

Mai was doing her part very well, screaming out for help frantically. The men were doing their parts even better, maybe even a little bit too well. Natasha looked like she downright wanted to murder the guy groping her excessively, and she really really did.

Ivory was a little bit more calm about everything, but not so calm that it would look suspicious.

When the guy holding Ember made the fatal mistake cupping her breasts, the velvet haired girl bit down on his shoulder, hard, hard enough that she broke past the fragile protection of his rough tattoo covered skin.

"Keep it professional," Ember growled in his ear. Her tone making the man shake a little bit, before he returned to his job.

Natasha let out a piercing scream as her guy ripped the fabric of her short dress. Kicking excessively, she could only hope that their 'saviors' got there before she lost control of her actions. The tiger-haired girl felt tears streaking down her face, and though she would later say that they were all a part of her act, they were all too real.

"Help!" She screamed at the top of her lungs, knowing full well that in this neighborhood no one but the patrolling brothers would come to her aid.

Mai however, was handling this in a stride. There was no part of her that was afraid, she knew the plan and trusted it completely, a little naively, but completely. She screamed, and pounded on the man when necessary, but on the inside she was completely calm. The way she saw it, this was a play date compared to what Shang would push her into if she were to be found. That's what she kept telling herself, as soon as she got the healthy amount of money for this job, she'd be able to really go into hiding. And she wouldn't need to take such demeaning jobs any longer. For her, this was entire thing was a blessing.

At the time, she didn't know how right she really was.

Ivory was scared out of her mind. She felt the unwelcome hands moving up and down her body, the warm wet mouth sucking on her neck and she hear his voice in the back of her mind. It wasn't all that hard to imagine herself that night. In fact, it was very very easy. Too easy.

Shaking her head violently, she felt her necklace be ripped off and let the memories fall with the storebought charm.

She needed the money, her mother needed this money. Or at least, that's what she repeated to herself mentally as the hands got more and more invading. She pounded uselessly on his chest, knowing all too well that out of the four girls that had been gathered to complete this mission, she was the only one who couldn't fight. At all. She didn't even know how to shoot a gun.

That thought alone terrified her to no end.

In a flash of colors, motions and sounds the man was pulled off of her. If you asked the brainiac, she would tell you that the only thing she could make out for a full five minutes was a distinct stream of purple.

Finally, after he stopped moving so quickly, Ivory saw Donatello. The moment the meek blondes eyes came into contact with his, she fainted. Plain and simple. Her last conscious thought was thankful that this was part of the plan. Even if it wasn't though, she still would have passed out.

Mai however had a different experience altogether, the man was pulled off of her alright, but instead of a fast action packed moment, there were a pair of intense blue eyes staring into her dark brown ones with such concern that it shook her.

"Hold on," The voice of the eyes said, but she couldn't be bothered to hear him. Even while he drew out a sword, the Japanese runaway could not take her eyes off of him. As if in a trance, she stood by just taking him in. A part of her knew that this was Leonardo, but that part remained pretty much silent as she watched his fluid dance-like motions. Mai hadn't been expecting this, she hadn't been nearly this fascinated by the boys picture. But in person, it was like being hit in the stomach.

She felt a heat rise on her cheeks and was thankful that her dark skin covered the blush she knew she had.

Faintly, she noticed that the man whose hands were roaming around her body invasively, was now lying across the pavement groaning in pain and clutching his sides.

Leonardo came over towards her, approaching very carefully and calmly, extending a single hand. Mai didn't even have to think before her delicate fingers slipped into his rough hand. He pulled her to him, and in that swift movement he woke the girl up. Realizing that she was expected to cry, she did. She sobbed relentlessly into his chest, and the feeling in her stomach that rose when she did was indescribably horrible. It was an amplified version of the feeling she got when she was young, the day that she broke her an expensive vase and blamed it on the maid. Guilt. Only the guilt she was feeling now, was so much worse. The feeling only intensified when he rubbed her back with his thumb in circles. A comforting gesture.

Natasha Singe was not one to need rescuing, but she was beyond thankful when a boy wearing an orange bandana like thing over his eyes dropped down and flung the man away from her.

Despite the plan, Natasha couldn't hold herself back any longer, with tears streaming down her face and a pretty dress ripped nearly in half, the vigilante punched the man in the face. Hard.

The boy beside her, Michelangelo no doubt, looked at her in shock as the man reeled from her vicious hit. She cursed herself slightly, but remained firm with her decision. Recovering from his previous shock, the freckled boy flung himself into battle with her attacker.

Natasha watched in silent contentment to see her attacker being beat to a pulp by a boy who looked very uncomfortable with this predicament.

After the hired attacker was lying on the ground, coughing up his own blood and whispering curses repeatedly, the boy known as Mikey came over to her. His baby blue eyes uncertain.

She really couldn't blame him, so she took the lead, seeing Mai and her target Natasha took their lead. Wrapping her arms around him, she cried. Unlike the Japanese girl, she didn't feel the least bit sorry for it either. Though no-one will ever truly know this, Natasha was genuinely crying.

"You have a killer punch," Was the orange-clad brothers only remark before he awkwardly wrapped his arms around her faux crying form.

If the situation hadn't been so serious, The Tiger as she was called, knew that she would have laughed.

And that kind of scared her.

Out of all of the girls, Ember without a doubt had the weirdest experience out of all of them. It wasn't like she wasn't expecting it, but it was still very unsettling with her.

After the red streaked boy pulled the man off of her, a stony expression on his face and a burning fire in his eyes. Ember's breath caught in her throat for that brief second she saw his face. She couldn't help but compare him to the image of herself stained into her memory. His eyes, though green, were much different from hers. Whereas her eyes were a vibrant green, with flecks of dark green splattering at the edges of her eyes, towards the pupil there were spirals of light sea green.

His eyes were something she knew would haunt her as long as she lived. Every time she closed her eyes, she knew it'd be his oaky greens that she saw. His eyes looked like leaves in fall, seconds before the green was drained, mere moments away from the corruption of their life. But those leaves went out with a bang, she thought as she stared into the flashes of color dancing in his eyes.

Just as quickly as they came, they were gone. She denied the pang of disappointment seeping through her.

She watched with false hysteria as Raphael took her 'attacker' down without much problem. As soon as it had happened, his eyes once again met hers.

Suddenly unpleasantly aware of every action the two of them made, Ember approached him with great hesitation. Not sure where the boundaries lay, but knowing there would be some.

The dark-haired teen extended his arm and she fell into it as he pulled her close to him. Neither of them dared to move after that, because even though they were both denying it with every fiber of their being, they didn't want to disrupt the perfection they both felt at the moment. That little hole deep down inside of them, that had slowly been pecking away at the both of them was temporarily satisfied.

Raphael was not having a good day. First, he'd woken up in a very compromising position with his head stuck in the space between his mattress and the wall. Second, training had gone poorly as his head still hurt from being stuck, and Leo had beat him humiliatingly. Third, all of the criminals in the entire city seemed to be off-duty or something.

"I bet it's that chicks fault!" Mikey said after a long silence had fallen over the brothers. Normally, roaming the rooftops of New York, patrolling for danger and saving the public was full of laughs and fun. All four of them agreed that they enjoyed their hour of freedom.

Donnie, having not learned from past mistakes decided to indulge the orange-clad ninja by asking what chick he was referring to. Some genius, Raphael snorted to himself.

"That tiger chick that is always beating up on criminals and then turning them over, people are really getting scared of her! She has managed to elude the best detectives, and traps and everything! Always somehow finding a way to leave the crook at the police stations doorstep. Maybe she can teleport or..." Raphael tuned out of his brothers musings. Turning his ears towards the streets, he couldn't believe that there was no crime going down. It was New York, at night, something had to be happening.

And that's when they heard the scream. It was so loud, that all four of them were sure it could have come from anywhere within twenty miles.

A twenty mile radius scream, that girl, whoever she was, had to have some killer lungs.

Without a moment of hesitation, all four of them began rushing towards where the scream had come from.

What they saw sickened them to no end, the red-clad boy instantly regretted wishing for some sort of crime, an attempted rape. And from the looks of things, it wouldn't have been attempted if they didn't get there.

If there was one thing that Master Splinter had taught his four sons, it was how to respect a woman. Sure, they'd be girls that they would have to fight against (Cough cough Karai) and their gender didn't mean that they would have to take it easy on their opponent. Females could prove to be just as dangerous, if not more so, as men.

What it did mean, was that forcing yourself upon a woman, or anyone for that matter, was wrong and unforgivable. Hurting anyone, for the wrong reasons, was wrong. Especially a woman or a child.

And it disgusted them to see it happen.

Four girls were being pressed against a wall by four different men, and Raphael let his eyes wander over towards a velvet haired girl. Her hair itself was enough to draw him in, velvet red with black streaks running through it.

"Mikey, you save her," Leo commanded in a hard tone, pointing at the girl with tiger-like hair.

"Donnie you're with her," A blond with purple tipped hair was pointed out.

"And Raph, you get her," The velvet haired girl was selected. Much to Raphaels relief.

"Go."

And all four of them sprang off into action.

Leo was the first to reach his target and the victim, as they were the closest by. The victim, at a closer look was pretty. The dangerous kind of pretty, with almond shaped dark brown eyes, and long silky black hair that hung down to her sides. Unexpectedly, when his eyes met with the girls dark brown eyes, he choked on his tongue, his body acting purely out of instinct and habit removed the man from her. That's what he told himself, it wasn't at all jealously because the man was touching her.

"Hold on," He heard himself speak.

Honestly, the blue-clad boy wasn't very interested in the fight he was having with the man that just attacked her. He normally would make the disgusting excuse for a man sorry that he ever laid one unwelcome finger on anyone, but he settled for knocking him unconscious.

Then, after what felt like a decade but in reality was only a few minutes, Leo raised his eyes to meet hers.

Extending his hand slightly, he was mildly surprised when the Japanese girl threw herself at him and began crying. Nonetheless, Leo wrapped his arms around her protectively, not bothering to help his brothers with their fight. And frankly, he didn't care about them at the moment. He knew they could handle it, but the girl in his arms, he couldn't guarantee anything about her.

Donatello knew, the moment that his brown eyes connected with her tender almost silver eyes, Donatello knew. The blond looked at him with terror riddling through her features, and he could barely fight the urge to take her into his arms and hold her against him.

Choosing his best option was to focus entirely on the man holding her, instead of her, the purple-clad science lover moved quickly. Delivering blows to the man for a little bit over five minutes straight.

Taking mercy on the man and his pathetic soul, Donnie stopped his attacks. His eyes once again being blessed with the almost silver of the blondes eyes. In the second that he saw them he could make out three things.

The first, was that there was an underlying intelligence in her eyes. Something about her screamed that she was very smart. Smarter than she was willing to let on. Maybe, he thought, she might not be so smart when in came to street smarts, but when it comes to the academic world Donatello would bet his life that she was smart.

The second, was that she also had a hidden mischief clouding over her. The kind that was in fact hidden, stored away for an unknown purpose. But the purple ninja had no doubt she had a wild side to her. The question was, did she know that? It looked like her mischievous side had been locked away somewhere in the depths of herself. And he wanted to know why.

And finally, the third thing that he could tell from her eyes, is that she didn't allow herself to do anything. He didn't know how he got this, he just did. He just knew that she locked herself away and it was a miracle for her to even be out doing something. Judging from the look of her clothes, she'd been out partying. Clearly not something she did frequently.

And then, much to his surprise and dismay, she passed out. Taking her revealing eyes with her.

Picking her up with ease, he was concerned about her weight. Should a girl of her height, which to be fair wasn't very impressive to begin with, weigh as much as he would imagine a ten-year-old would? That left him with the enigma, how old was the vixen in his arms?

Her face appeared young, fifteen at best, but her clothes and...ahem...development in certain...ahem...areas defied that ruling. Sure, she could have been more developed than most girls her age, but judging from the distinct scent of alcohol on her, and the fact that her friends also seemed to be just as far along the road to adulthood as her, er...womanhood, he somehow doubted it.

Shaking his head at himself for thinking that, he cursed himself silently. Sometimes, he was just too geeky for his own good.

He couldn't help the feeling of hope that rose when he looked at her.

Mikey was calm enough when his brother told him that he was in charge of protecting the tiger-haired girl. Mikey was a little bit, okay very, angry at the man that ripped her dress. Mikey was utterly shocked, and a little bit ashamed of himself when he realized he was staring at the view of her exposed cleavage the rip had provided. Mikey was even more shocked when the girl had anger burning through her amber eyes as she punched her attacker. Mikey was even a little bit scared of the amount of force that went into the punch and something told him she'd been holding back.

He had to say though, when she looked at him, her eyes welling up with tears, and her makeup smeared across her face. The girl was beautiful, flawless olive-toned skin that screamed Italian. To be honest, Mikey loved Italy. Pizza came from Italy, and he supposed that Italian girls, as well as their food, was his weakness.

He awkwardly wrapped his arms around the small frame clutching to him, in what was supposed to be a comforting gesture. He didn't really know what to do, it wasn't her fault and the youngest of the four brother feared that she thought it was. The fact was, he just wasn't used to dealing with females. The only girl he'd ever touched was April, and he barely even did that.

So this was new.

Thinking of something to say, he said the first thing that popped into his mind, "You have a killer punch,"

He could have banged his head against a brick wall for that one. Wait to go Mikey, he drawled to himself. Finally understanding what his brothers had been telling him about his comments all these years.

But the girl didn't storm off, or whatever it is girls do when they're upset or offended, she merely shook with silent laughter.

This caused Mikey to grin, strengthening his hold on the tiger-haired girl he smiled to himself. Finally, someone appreciated his comments.

Raphael took out the girls attacker as soon as he could with the girl beside him being in such hysteria. As soon as the man hit the floor, and he knew that the perp would stay on the ground, he turned his attention towards the girl.

He regretted it instantly.

All of his life, he had watched pretty girls roam the streets, unaware of the ninja's watchful eyes. But never in his life had he seen a girl like this.

It wasn't just her features that screamed out to him, it was everything about her. He took a second to fully take her in. Unlike the other girls she was with, she wasn't wearing a dress, or any fancy jewelry. Instead, she wore a pair of black leather pants that clung tastefully to all of her curves, matched with a less modest black corset. It did wonders for her cleavage, even he had to admit that, she also had on a matching leather jacket and to complete her biker look she wore a pair of knee-high black leather boots. Something told him she just loved leather. And, judging from her pretty black gloves, she also owned a motorcycle.

He liked that. A lot more than he was willing to admit at the time.

Something about her just screamed wild. And, what could he say, he always liked living dangerously.

Pulling her towards him, slowly at first, he placed his hands around her before he even realized what he was doing.

They could have stayed like that for days, and Raphael wouldn't have ever noticed. The smell of her hair was intoxicating. Even though she had the faint stench of alcohol clinging onto her, she still smelt of slightly burnt wood.

A smell he could really get used to.

The only thing that broke the intense silence between the two of them was her soft voice whispering roughly, "Get me out of here,"

She could have asked just about anything and he would have done it for her, and this was no exception.

But like he said before, Raphael liked living dangerously.


	3. Chapter 3

Leonardo carried the unconscious girl, holding her close to him gently. His eyes gazing over her features, she was japanese, there was no denying that. She was gorgeous, her slightly black and blue hair peacefully hanging off her head. Her make-up smudged, and he felt a strange pull to her. It was nothing new, he'd felt it around Karai, and knew what it was. Attraction. The only difference was he was severely ashamed of the attraction, and it was a lot stronger than anything he'd ever felt around Karai.

She stirred slightly, pressing herself against Leo, as he scaled a building as carefully as he could manage. His three brothers were in a similar position. It seemed that every girl, except for the one with velvet hair had passed out. The boys considered leaving the girls with their friend, but in that kind of neighborhood, with three unconscious girls and one barely conscious one dragging them home, it hadn't seemed like the best idea.

The velvet haired girl gave directions, her faint voice barely heard over the New York traffic in the distance. Leo kept up appearances of strength, not seeming worried about the girls. He was surprised at his feelings, this had happened before, several times actually, but he had never had this reaction. Every time, he was disgusted with the men, but he never felt responsible for it. The reasonable part of him reassured him that there was nothing he could do but stop it from going any further, but looking down at the teen unconscious in his arms...he had a hard time telling himself that it wasn't his fault. The protectiveness he felt over the girl was unreasonable.

"What's her name?" he heard a voice ask. For a moment, Leo was terrified that it was his own voice asking, but then he saw the velvet haired girl turn towards Donnie, her passive expression softening by looking at the blond in his brothers arms.

"Ivory, her name is Ivory,"

Donnie smiled faintly to himself, repeating the name in his mind until he was sure it would never fade. Ivory, what a soft name he thought, it fit her. Her delicate features, relaxed in her sleeping state. Her soft inhales and exhales filled his ears. Yes, Ivory fit her perfectly.

As he shifted, a strand of purple dipped blond hair fell into her face, and Donnie absently brushed it aside with his tanned fingertips. When Ivory smiled lightly at his touch, he let his finger linger a little bit more on the soft surface of her flesh. His eyes drifted towards the tips of her hair, wondering what inspired her to dye them purple. A strange sense of pride swirled through him, purple was afterall his signature color. He doubted she knew that when she did it, but it still made his mind scream in accomplishment. Donnie noticed the way that the velvet haired girls eyes softened when she looked at Ivory, and he wanted to know why. He wanted to know her. Although, Donnie knew that was absurd. He was a ninja, he had enemies left and right, he couldn't pull someone into that. He wouldn't...no matter how pretty she was.

"What about her?" Mikey asked curiously, regarding the tiger striped girl whose closed eyes were a little pink from crying. He had to admit, she was a rather curious girl. The punch she delivered could have made Raphael cringe. He wondered...was she 'The tiger'? Her hair certainly fit the profile, but he quickly dismissed the thought. 'The Tiger' would not have let that happen to her or her friends.

"Natasha," the velvet haired girl answered briefly, resting her head in the crook of his surly brothers neck. Mikey noticed the grip Raph had on the girl. It defied the unreadable, blank expression on his face, the grip said one word very clearly: Mine. Really, Mikey doubted Raph even knew what he was doing.

"Natasha?" Mikey asked quietly, repeating the name. His freckled face scrunched in thought, trying to recall if he'd ever heard that name velvet haired girl continued, "And she is Mai," gesturing towards the girl in Leo's arms.

"What about you?" Leo asked, raising an eyebrow. Raph stiffened, not liking the way his brother was addressing the girl. Accusingly almost.

"Ember,"

Raphael didn't let the smile show, but there was a smile there. He liked the name, a lot actually. In fact, he was almost tempted to repeat the name just to hear what it sounded like in his voice.

The rest of the walk continued in silence, and Ember kept the act up extremely well. She knew that this was going to be one of her greatest cons, the kind of con she would one day write down in her autobiography. Should anyone want to know about the life of a con-artist. When they reached the apartment, Ember pulled herself from the red-clad boy's hold, and unlocked the door. Using a weak voice, she told the boys where to lay the girls down. Which bed belonged to who, etc.

Raphael and Ember were left in the living room, stuck in an awkward position, "Are you alright?" he finally asked.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Can I ask you something?"

Raph held back his dread, the question she was about to ask was predictable, and not one he wanted to answer.

"What's your name?"

Raphael was mildly surprised, after all, he'd been expecting a question more along the lines of 'why do you carry around sias? What are you? Why were you and those other boys roaming around in the middle of the night, what are you, superheroes?' but instead she asked such a simple question.

"Raphael, my name is Raphael," he answered after a moment.

Ember smiled a bit, "That's a nice name."

"My brothers are Leonardo, Michelangelo and Donatello. Leo is the one wearing a blue mask, Mikey orange and Donnie blue," Raph continued.

"Why do you guys even wear masks?"

He paused, it was a valid question, "To be cooler I guess, it adds mystery or something,"

This elected a small chuckle, "Thank you, Raphael, I mean it."

He scoffed, "It's nothing,"

She offered him a warm, amused soft smile and leaned up. Pushing her soft lips against the rough skin on his cheek, "Not to me," she whispered. Then, without anything else, she walked to her room. Shutting the door behind her.

Leonardo followed the directions Ember gave, and found Mai's room with little difficulty. When he opened the door, he was pleasantly surprised to find a Japanese styled room. Well, as much as a room can be at least. There were grand posters covering her walls of a cherry blossom tree, Japanese lettering scrawled across the picture.

"Dark and light are often not as different as one might think," he translated. Looking around the room a little more, he saw pictures stuck to her wall. Most of them were of her and the other girls, although one or two of them were pictures of a much younger looking Mai. Setting her softly on the bed, he pulled the white comforter over her, and smiled softly.

"You speak Japanese?" she mumbled, barely audible. Leo rose his eyebrow, but did not comment.

"Yes, I do."

"Good, I think everyone should speak Japanese,"

Leonardo chuckled slightly, "Goodnight Mai," and before he could stop himself he placed a gentle kiss on her forehead. He attempted to retract quickly, but Mai stopped him. Placing a weak hand on his cheek. She held it there for a moment, before smiling, "Goodnight, Ninja," her hand dropped, and Leo hesitated to leave.

Mikey looked around the room, his eyes widening. The room had a grand dresser, complete with a mirror. Although, instead of the reflective surface, all one could see was a plethora of pictures. He noticed the various comic books stacked neatly against her wall, the skateboard lying by the door and the many cases of video games.

Mikey set her down on the bed, carefully pulling the blanket over her. Natasha smiled as his fingertips accidently brushed the skin on her collarbone.

The orange-clad teenager pulled back hesitatingly, but couldn't keep himself from running his hands through the silk she called hair. His hands running over her scalp lightly as he did so. Natasha leaned into his touch, placing her own hands on his sides, and pulling him slightly. He obeyed without much thought, until he was lying flat on his back and her head was resting on his chest.

"You're really pretty. But, then again, what do I know? I've only ever talked to two girls in my life, and one of them was trying to kill me so...but I have watched T.V and I think you're very pretty. " Mikey informed the sleeping girl.

When she giggled, he almost fell out of the bed in shock.

"You're awake?" he asked panicky.

"Go to sleep," she ordered, her mumbled words making it apparent that she was halfway between sleep and awake. Mikey sighed in relief, "I can't," he told her.

"Are you going to leave?"

"Yes."

"Are you going to come back?"

"I don't know,"

"I want you to,"

Natasha did not respond after that.

Ivory's room was not what Donnie expected. Coming from the delicate girl, he expected a princess styled room, but instead he was met with what could barely be described as a room. It was more of a lab than anything else. Something that he was abnormally familiar with. His eyes scanned over the computer, as well as the printed out blueprints lying array on her table. Pencils and pens scattered about, her handwriting across paper in notes. He didn't look too long though.

Quickly, he found her bed and set her down with care. Not sure what else to do, he just stared at her. The look of serenity crossing her features melted his insides in a way he couldn't quite understand.

It came as a bit of a surprise, when she shifted in a way that left her right hand on his leg. It was a feather light touch, subconscious, and he desperately wanted to feel her skin on his own. The jeans he was wearing at the time seemed to prove a problem. Slowly, as not to stir her, Donatello began to remove her hand from his leg. He rose, casting another look in her direction before leaving the room. Closing the door behind him, Donnie grinned. He knew it! He knew she was smart! Just imagine the conversations...the thought died off. No. He couldn't see her again, to drag her into his world would be wrong, she'd get put into danger. Yet, even as he made this promise, he knew he would have a hard time keeping it.

All four brothers exited the apartment, making sure the doors and windows were secure. They exchanged looks on the way home, and all of them knew one thing for certain.

This was going to get complicated.


End file.
